Oh, the Humanity! Relating to Robots May Change Us. But How? With Szu-chi Huang

05/01/24 • 28 min

Whether or not robots can feel is a question that, at least for now, might be better left to the philosophers. But what’s becoming increasingly clear, says Associate Professor Szu-chi Huang, is that robots do have the capacity to make us feel.

In this episode of If/Then: Business, Leadership, Society, Huang delves into the effect that robots can have not just on our emotions, but on our behavior.

Huang’s research shows that when people witness people helping others, they’re inspired to do the same. This is what she calls “pro-social” behavior. But she wondered: what happens when a robot is the one lending a helping hand? Are people inspired to by machines?

To find out, Huang designed a study where participants were shown various news reports about natural disasters and the measures being taken in response. In some stories, the “heroes” were human first responders; in others, they were robots.

“In both cases, we [explained] in detail what those heroes were doing,” says Huang. Whether dragging survivors out of ruins after an earthquake or disinfecting hospitals amidst a surging COVID-19 pandemic, “The actions are exactly the same, but the heroes are different.”

Following test subjects’ exposure to these stories, Huang measured their willingness to engage in pro-social behavior, like donating to support children in need. What she found was those who saw robot heroes were significantly less likely to donate than those who saw humans take the same actions. “The robot stories actually make people feel less inspired,” says Huang. “And that has important consequences. If using robots lowers our intention to help others, it could have a pretty big negative social impact.”

So what do we do as AI and robots play an increasing role in our lives? How do we embrace their benefits without downgrading our humanity and pro-sociability in the process? On this episode of If/Then, Huang explores how “humanizing” robots — highlighting their vulnerability, autonomy, and finitude — helps us connect with them and ourselves more deeply.

Takeaways

We are inspired to help people when we see others doing so. But what if it’s robots lending a helping hand? Are we still motivated to also help?
How we “humanize” robots — choosing features that highlight their vulnerability, autonomy, and finitude — could help us connect with them and ourselves more deeply.

More Resources:

Robots or Humans for Disaster Response? Impact on Consumer Prosociality and Possible Explanations, Journal of Consumer Psychology
Think Fast, Talk Smart: The Podcast: From Dreaming to Doing: How We Set and Achieve Goals

From Stanford GSB Insights:

If/Then is a podcast from Stanford Graduate School of Business that examines research findings that can help us navigate the complex issues we face in business, leadership, and society.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of If/Then: Business, Leadership, Society, Huang delves into the effect that robots can have not just on our emotions, but on our behavior.

Takeaways

We are inspired to help people when we see others doing so. But what if it’s robots lending a helping hand? Are we still motivated to also help?
How we “humanize” robots — choosing features that highlight their vulnerability, autonomy, and finitude — could help us connect with them and ourselves more deeply.

More Resources:

Robots or Humans for Disaster Response? Impact on Consumer Prosociality and Possible Explanations, Journal of Consumer Psychology
Think Fast, Talk Smart: The Podcast: From Dreaming to Doing: How We Set and Achieve Goals

From Stanford GSB Insights:

If/Then is a podcast from Stanford Graduate School of Business that examines research findings that can help us navigate the complex issues we face in business, leadership, and society.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Previous Episode

Cashless: Is Digital Currency the Future of Finance? With Darrell Duffie

Digital currency — whether privately-developed or government-issued — seems like an inevitability to Stanford Graduate School of Business finance professor Darrell Duffie. “Virtually all countries are exploring a central bank digital currency for potential use,” he says.

An expert on banking, financial market infrastructure, and fintech payments, Duffie is interested in how central bank digital currencies (CBDC) could revolutionize economies around the world. The shift to a digital version of a fiat currency, still backed by a country’s central bank, could offer significant benefits compared to the current financial system. These include improved financial inclusion, lower cross-border payment costs, and more timely and secure transaction processing.

The key, Duffie says, is striking the right regulatory balance to foster innovation while mitigating risks. As this episode of If/Then explores, if the U.S. wants to future-proof banking, then a digital dollar could be a solution.

Key Takeaways:

The benefits of central bank digital currencies: As digital versions of a country's fiat currency, backed by its central bank, CBDCs could provide advantages over the current financial system. These include improved financial inclusion, lower cross-border payment costs, and more timely and secure transaction processing.
Challenges could be ahead: Duffie sees two major impediments — privacy concerns and the potential impact on the U.S. dollar's global dominance.
The U.S. dollar's reserve currency status is secure for now: China's development of a "digital renminbi" raises questions about the dollar's dominance. Even so, Duffie believes the U.S. currency will maintain its position as the world's reserve currency for decades to come.
Regulation will be crucial: Duffie says the U.S. lags behind other countries in establishing clear rules for cryptocurrencies and digital assets. Finding the right regulatory balance is critical if we’re going to foster innovation while mitigating risks.

More Resources:

Darrell Duffie, The Adams Distinguished Professor of Management and Professor of Finance.

Capitol Gains: GSB Professors Share Their Expertise in DC and Beyond

If/Then is a podcast from Stanford Graduate School of Business that examines research findings that can help us navigate the complex issues we face in business, leadership, and society.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Next Episode

Leading With Values: When Good Intentions Aren’t Enough, with Ken Shotts

If we create good institutions, then we can live up to our good intentions.

Knowing and articulating our values is essential. But when the metaphorical Siren’s song fills the air, is knowing our values enough to ensure that we live by them?

According to Ken Shotts, a professor of political economy at Stanford Graduate School of Business, having stated values is just expressing aims not necessarily actualizing them through concrete policies and practices. “We need those binding institutions to help us live up to those intentions,” Shotts says.

From incentive structures within organizations to regulatory bodies, laws, and civic organizations in society at large, Shotts explains how carefully designed institutions can ensure that we don’t just espouse good intentions, but that we actually live up to them.

Key Takeaways:

Good intentions aren’t enough: While defining our values is essential, we need binding institutions to ensure those values are upheld at the personal level, organizational level, and in society at large.
Keeping businesses on track: At an organizational level, key "institutions" include tangible incentive structures like compensation, promotion criteria, monitoring processes, and cultural norms around praiseworthy and unacceptable behavior.
Keeping society on track: On a broader scale, societal institutions like regulations, laws, and civic groups provide crucial checks and balances to channel business activities toward positive societal impact beyond just profits.

More Resources:

Ken Shotts is The David S. and Ann M. Barlow Professor of Political Economy.
Ken Shotts, Stanford GSB Voices profile
Leading With Values, by Ken Shotts and Neil Malhotra
Ken Shotts on Think Fast, Talk Smart – Leadership and Ethics: How to Communicate Your Core Values

If/Then is a podcast from Stanford Graduate School of Business that examines research findings that can help us navigate the complex issues we face in business, leadership, and society. Each episode features an interview with a Stanford GSB faculty member.

Find out more about If/Then.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.